Monday, August 12, 2013

More name changes

That last post prompted me to look further into this idea of the government deciding what you can or cannot name your baby. Eugene Volokh links to this article:

In 2004, the New Mexico Court of Appeal permitted Snaphappy Fishsuit Mokiligon to change his name to Variable. 2 A few years later, Variable petitioned to have his name changed to Fuck Censorship! 3 The trial court denied his petition, explaining that the desired name was “obscene, offen- sive and would not comport with common decency.” 4 The appellate court affirmed. 5 The California Court of Appeal reached a similar decision in 1992, when it denied a petitioner’s request to change his name to Misteri (pronounced Mister) Nigger. 6

Two courts reached opposite results from one another on the issue of public confusion in cases in which petitioners sought to change their names to Santa Claus.

How do judges decide these cases with a straight face?

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